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Sabrina

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Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colour Stick

July 13, 2015

There are three new cream blushes in the Chanel Les Beiges collection called Healthy Glow Sheer Colour Sticks ($45 each for 8 g / 0.28 oz). All three have this soft texture that feels cool to the touch. The sticks are easy to swipe on the cheeks and blend flawlessly. Coverage and pigment is quite sheer compared to what you see in the tubes, but they layer nicely to give the face a very natural glow with a hint of color. These blush sticks give the skin a youthful glow with the perfect amount of soft color. If you like color you might want to skip these although I do think they make a good base for powder blush. If you have super oily skin I think these are probably going to also be a skip for you. They stay put for a few hours on normal/combination skin but if you get oily and find blush tends to disappear on you, these will probably do the same.

The three shades have a very tiny hint of shimmer in them. On the skin the shimmer disappears but rather gives the cheeks a glow-from-within kind of luminous look:

No. 20 is a soft bronze with golden shimmer
No. 21 is a warm rose pink with shimmer
No. 22 is a coral with a hint of shimmer

I photographed and swatched these back in May before I left for vacation. Back then my skin was light to medium ranging from a Chanel Beige 20 to 30. Living in sunny Southern California means there is sun everywhere – there’s no avoiding it and I tan easily even with a high SPF sunscreen. On our Europe trip both my husband and I were in the sun a lot with tons of walking, outside tours, and the cruise. We both made the extra effort to re-apply sunscreen constantly, wore hats, and on some occasions I tried to wear long-sleeved tees to cover my arms but it was extremely hot and many days tanks and tees were the only option for me. I got quite a bit darker and went from a Chanel Beige 20/30 to the darker end of Chanel Beige 40.

Back in May, all three were perfect for my light/medium skin. Weather here was moderate but warm so lasting power was really good since my skin didn’t get oily. I went back and forth debating whether to bring one with me on the trip but opted for Tom Ford Pink Sand instead. Now that I’m a few shades darker I tested these again for the past two weeks to see how they wear on darker skin. I also wanted to see how long they would last on the skin now that the temperatures are warmer and a bit more humid. On my Chanel 40 skin, the Bronze No. 20 disappears on me after 1 minute of wear. It gives the cheeks a very soft contour but after I blend I can’t see much of anything. The Pink No. 21 and Coral No. 22 still show up on my skin, but I find I need to apply + blend + let sit, then repeat with one more layer for the color to show up. The effect is still similar – you get that very natural glow with a hint of color. Now that I’m darker the colors have more of a glow finish versus color. I have them swatched below and blended out on Chanel Beige 30 skin (from last month). To see how these look on fair skin you might want to check out Café Makeup for swatches of the pink and bronze.

Close ups of each shade:

Ingredients:

Comparison swatches to the Charlotte Tilbury Beach Sticks in Las Salinas and Ibiza (currently on Chanel Beige 40 skin). Below you can see the Chanel and Charlotte Tilbury colors are different. Concept is similar in the way they give the skin a natural glow. Charlotte Tilbury’s have a sweeter vanilla scent and more visible shimmer flecks. Chanel’s smells like their UV Essential Sunscreen and has a more natural glow with finely milled shimmer.

One last shot:

In warmer humid weather I find these fade within 2-3 hours on the cheeks. In hot summer weather I have a hard time finding any makeup that is truly sweat-proof (some eyeliners and mascaras have exceptionally good lasting power). In moderately warm weather they last at least 5 hours without fading. All three give a really pretty soft glow. They are easy to apply and if you’re timid with blush these are goof proof. I truly believe these are impossible to overdo because they blend out so nicely on the cheeks. My take is that the pink and coral are musts for me. I’ve been wearing the pink one a lot. The bronze performed better when I was lighter in skintone. Right now I’m too tan for it to show up. On fairer skins these will perform more like a regular blush.

You can find the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colour Sticks at all Chanel counters now. I bought all three of mine from Saks Fifth Avenue. Also online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales and Chanel.com.

Have you tried these yet? Did they work for you? If yes or no, please chime in with your skintone!

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Chanel Les Beiges Le Vernis: Beige Rose, Beige Pur, Precious Beige and Lovely Beige

July 13, 2015

There are four new Le Vernis Nail Colours ($27 each) in this year’s Les Beiges Collection. The four beiges remind me of some of the classic sheer pink and beige colors Chanel had back in the 90’s – but in modern form and with better coverage (I remember the older ones being super sheer!). I picked up all four shades at the counter over a month ago – I know many of you have been asking for swatches, apologies for the delay! All are sheer in coverage with a super smooth streak-free finish. There is enough pigment that it will cover the nail entirely with two coats. Here’s a quick peek at the Chanel Les Beiges display:

Beige Rose is a sheer glossy baby pink, it has a bright quality to it so on my hands it actually looks pink even though it’s light in undertone. With this one two coats gives pretty good coverage but has a slight jelly finish.

Beige Pur is a sheer neutral beige. Out of the four this one is the sheerest on me. I think nude beiges can be hard to pull off sometimes with my skintone. If a nude nail polish color is an exact match or has too much warmth the color can make my hands look corpse-like or skin look sallow. I think your mileage may vary depending on your skintone with Beige Pur – I personally really like it on the hands. It gives them a neutral polished look.

Precious Beige is a warmer dark beige on my Chanel Beige 30 skintone (I was a Chanel Beige 30 when I swatched these last month, right now I have a tan and am more along the lines of Beige 40/50). It has a tiny bit of shimmer mixed in throughout but on the nail it looks more like a cream. The shimmer is still visible if you look at the nails up close.

Lovely Beige is the darkest of the four colors. This is a medium warm beige tan on me. I like that it’s warm but not too warm (like Intention was on me). There is the slightest hint of a terracotta pink undertone in Lovely Beige.

 

Swatch comparisons below (left nail wheel is from the Dior Summer Vernis post):

Based on the swatch comparisons, I couldn’t find a dupe for Beige Rose. It’s a few shades darker compared to other pale pinks that I own. Beige Pur resembles a more beige version of Chanel Jade Rose (discontinued). It’s also similar to Chanel Secret but the Beige Pur has more brown/beige undertone. For Precious Beige I think Tom Ford Toasted Sugar is the closest option (the Chanel is a bit warmer in undertone). Precious Beige is the closest dupe I’ve found to the long discontinued Sahara Beige Nail Polish. Chanel Lovely Beige is a warmer tan version of Dior Incognito.

Overall I find the four Les Beiges Le Vernis shades to be lovely polished classics. They offer good coverage with a slightly sheer finish making them easy to wear and apply. Texture is smooth and streak free which is a huge plus for pale nail colors (although Chanel almost always makes colors with good pigment and coverage). Being neutrals I do think there are other less expensive brands that have similar colors. My personal experience is that nudes and beiges need to have the right mix of white, cream, tan and beige to work on my olive skin. If it’s too warm it makes the hands look yellow. If it has too much grey or white it ends up looking like a pale white pink. Chanel, Dior and Louboutin do nudes and beiges the best in my experience – although depending on your skintone you may find other brands work just as well.

I give Beige Rose and Precious Beige a huge thumbs up for color. I could have skipped Beige Pur and Lovely Beige – they are lovely colors, I just prefer the other two. Bottom line is that they are definitely worth a look.

Several have asked about how to make Chanel polish last. I do believe the base and top coat make a huge difference in extending the wear. On several occasions when I have professional manicures and forget to bring my own base/top coat, I find tip wear and chipping occur by Day 2. For me the Chanel Nail Polish + OPI or Seche Vite combination just doesn’t work. OPI Top Coats doesn’t make the polish last and Seche Vite causes major shrinkage around the edges of both the cuticle and tips which makes tip wear occur much faster. Both are good brands but they work better with other polish brands.

Out of all the base and top coats I’ve tested, my top two favorite base coats are the Deborah Lippmann Rehydrating Base Coat which seems to be discontinued (or maybe being repackaged?) and the Formula X Base Coat. For top coats Chanel Laque Brilliance Extreme and Rescue Beauty Lounge are my holy grails. With Chanel Fall there is a new base coat called La Base and a new top coat called Le Top Coat which is supposed to be a quick dry product. I just purchase both and will be testing in the next couple of weeks.

You can find the Les Beiges nail colors at all Chanel counters and boutiques now. Online at Chanel.com, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales.

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Chanel Les Beiges Glossimers and Healthy Glow Hydrating Lip Balm

July 10, 2015

Chanel launched a Les Beiges Collection earlier this summer. I picked up the items from the collection a couple months ago before I left for Europe, took photos and swatches but didn’t have time to edit (by now fall beauty has already started to hit counters!). I thought I’d share some quick thoughts on the lips and nails from the collection (nail polish swatches to be posted soon). There are three new lip items in this year’s Les Beiges:

All three are light in color without shimmer. Pigment and coverage is sheer to medium – not so sheer that they are invisible on the lips, but still pretty light. I’m in love with all three colors. They give the lips the perfect wash of effortless color. Polished and natural.

For the glossimers, you may find similar colors or dupes. I’m a sucker for the lush glossy sheen Chanel Glossimers give the lips. Beige Star is very pretty – it’s a your lips but better kind of gloss and covers the lip entirely. Rose Tendre is a sheer milky pink that goes on smoothly – many milky pinks tend to settle into my lip lines and are chalky looking (I have pigmented lips) but Rose Tendre goes on perfectly. It’s my favorite milky pink gloss to date. Right now it appears both are permanent, but I’m not 100% sure.

For the Healthy Glow Hydrating Lip Balm, I expected it to be transparent on the lips. On the back of my hand it looks really pale and usually pale lip balms wash out once they go on my lips. No. 10 however gives sheer to medium even coverage. It is lighter than my natural lip color so I find when it fades I have a pale rim on the outer portion and a darker middle. Lasting power can be extended by lining the lips and filling them in with a beige lipliner (I’ll have swatches below of some good light ones). In terms of hydration – it moisturizes the lips, but similar to the way Rouge Coco Shines do. It’s emollient, glossy and feels nice without sliding off – I’m not sure I can really tell if there are true moisturizing properties in it. The good thing is it doesn’t make my lips peel.

Two sets of swatch comparisons below, first to other glosses and then a few lipliners.

Bobbi Brown Illuminating Nudes Gloss in Almost Nude
NARS Lip Gloss in Guyane swatched here
Chanel Rose Reve Glossimer swatched here (discontinued)
NARS Christopher Kane Gloss in Nucleus review here
Zelens Lip Glaze in Rose swatched here (c/o)
Chanel Glossimer in Sweet Beige lip swatch here
Marc Jacobs Enamored Hi Shine in Pretty Thing review here (c/o)
NARS Lip Gloss in Belize

Chanel Precision Lip Liners in Natural, Beige Satin and Beige Innocent
Marc Jacobs (P)Outliner in Honeybun (swatched) (c/o)

If you’re a neutral lip lover, I think you will adore the Glossimers. The Lip Balm is lovely but given the size and pigment, I think it’s overpriced. That being said I don’t have anything like it in terms of the lightness of color but smooth coverage. Your mileage may vary depending on your skin tone and natural lip color. I was surprised at how much I liked it on the lips, but I don’t love it enough to feel the need to buy a backup.

You can find the Les Beiges Collection at Chanel counters now. Online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales and Chanel.com.

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Diptyque

Diptyque South Coast Plaza + SEVI Towel Event, Saturday July 11

July 10, 2015

This Saturday July 11th from 1 to 4 pm, there will be a summer event at Diptyque South Coast Plaza.  They’ve teamed up with SEVI Towel to host a Trunk Show featuring showcase SEVI’s Turkish Beach Towels and fresh summer scents from the Diptyque Les Eaux Collection. There will be Sugarfina treats, Teavana teas served, along with wine and champagne. At the event you’ll be able to meet SEVI’s founder Jennifer Soliman (you can read her story on the Tory Burch Blog).

There will be a Diptyque gift with purchase available and a step up. With any $150 purchase you will receive:
A canvas Diptyque Tote
One mini candle
One sampler fragrance set
A Sugarfina $10 gift card

With a $200 purchase you will get both candles and fragrance sampler sets (while supplies last).

Below, a sneak peek of the SEVI Linen Turkish Towels and the gift in the middle. SEVI will be launching a brand new towel at the store as well. I haven’t seen it yet in person but she’s posted a sneak peek on her instagram @sevitowel.

I was lucky to get a first hand sneak peek of one the SEVI Linen Towels – it has a lightweight soft and fluid texture. I wish I had this for my Europe trip. It rolls up into a compact roll and makes the perfect coverup for the beach.

To recap:
Event Saturday July 11
1 to 4 pm
Drinks and treats will be served

Call the store (714) 850-9995 to RSVP 
I will be stopping by on Saturday, if you are attending – let me know! 
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Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Early Access Starts Today

July 9, 2015
http://rstyle.me/n/s82ubf6

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Early Access starts today for Nordstrom Cardholders. At the top of my list each year for the sale are the Beauty Exclusives, Paige Denim and anything from Zella (I’m obsessed with their capris). The catalog arrived last week with a sneak peek. I’m happy to see there is a wider selection online and in stores. Be sure to check out the gift with purchase offerings too – store options may vary. On my wishlist and radar:

Diptyque has three gift sets this year, each set has a 6.5 oz candle, a 3.4 oz eau de toilette and a solid perfume. The options are Do Son and Tubéreuse, L’Ombre dans L’Eau and Baies and Philosykos and Figuier.

There are a lot of value sets and multi-packs including the Rose Balm Lip Trio, Supergoop! 3 Pack of SPF 50 Mists, Phyto Hydration Brilliance Kit, and this Lancome Mascara Wardrobe. YSL has a Rock Attitude Glossy Stain Trio with Glossy Stain No. 7 Corail Aquatique, Pop Water No. 204 Onde Rose and Plump Up No. 200 (swatches in this post here of 2 of the shades).
NARS has a gorgeous Blame it on NARS Cheek Palette exclusive to Nordstrom along with a couple Lip Pencil Trios.

Dior has four Nordstrom exclusives this year. On my radar is the neutral Rosy Eye Reviver Palette and this peachy Majesty Nail Polish. I hope to check them out in person today.

Also on my wishlist includes the Compact Styling Set from T3 (on sale), Look in a Box Pretty Neutral Set from MAC, and possibly this Lorac Palette (because it’s only $15).

Shoes are always good for fall preview. These Enzo Angiolini Manna Heels look like classic staples but might be too high of a heel for me. (Have you tried these before?) I’m in some need of a couple pairs of ankle booties. The Dolce Vita Kadie Bootie is exactly what I’ve been looking for.

Last but not least, Longchamp has several colors of their Le Pliage Expandable Tote for the sale in Black, Navy, Red and Slate. When we were in Paris, my husband and I picked up Expandable 21 inch version (not on sale) because our carry ons weren’t quite enough (after this purchase, we each had 2 bags to carry on flights). After using it for 3 weeks I’m a huge fan of expandable bags.

A few other things on my radar.

Are you shopping Early Access? What’s on your list?

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Christian Louboutin

Christian Louboutin Beauté Scarabée

July 9, 2015

Christian Louboutin Beauté released a new limited-edition Scarabée Collection inspired by Louboutin’s love of Egypt. There are three colors ($50 each) that have a soft shimmery multi-dimensional chrome effect. I saw the preview of these while I was in Europe. On our last day in Paris one of the Louvre Carousel Shops had the three new colors on display. I didn’t purchase them there but ordered them online and they arrived at my home the same day I came back to the US. Below you can see the three new colors at the top of the display along with all the nudes, pops and noirs. (For reference all the nudes reviewed and swatched here.)

All three come cased in a pretty brown carton embossed with a gold
scarab motif on the outside. The handles are lacquered with a coat of
warm gold colored caps. Each color flashes different colors as you move
your hand and the lacquer reflects with the light. In the bottles they
look duo-chrome which can look sharp once you apply them on the nails.
On the hands the color softens because the shimmer is very fine and all
the colors blend together beautifully. All are metallics but brush
strokes aren’t visible and the application is very smooth. Colors are sheer with the first coat with a jelly finish. Two coats gives full coverage but three coats will make the color deeper and richer. I’ve swatched each color with two coats.

Scarabée I is described as a soft metallic flecked with shades of rose and gold
Scarabée II is described as a deep blue with flashes of purple, emerald and gold
Scarabée II is described as a bronze with highlights of green and blue

Louboutin shot a few fun collage images for each shade. I’ll include one for each color along with a close up and swatches. Scarabée I is a warm rose gold. It’s iridescent and flashes a tiny bit of gold and olive depending on how the light hits the nails. On the fingers it’s like a pink red sunset.

Scarabée II is a metallic teal blue. I thought it would be similar to Chanel Azure or Bel-Argus. It has a similar vibe but it’s more of a cross between the two with less visible brush strokes. I’m wearing this right now on the toes and it’s a fun color for summer. It has a teal base with flashes of purple and deep blue and some silver.

Scarabée III is a stunning warm bronze gold with hints of olive shimmer. I thought it would be a dupe for Chanel Peridot, but it’s actually noticeably different. (Comparison swatches below.) I have a hard time pulling off anything with green or yellow undertones on my nails because it makes my olive skin look sallow or yellow. Scarabée III is quite pretty.

Comparison swatches below:

Louboutin Scarabée I
Rescue Beauty Lounge Elvis in the Cloud (swatched here)
Rescue Beauty Lounge Bonne Journée (swatched here)
Louboutin Scarabée II
Chanel Azure and Bel-Argus (discontinued, reviewed here)
Louboutin Scarabée III
Chanel Peridot (discontinued)
Chanel Alchimie (reviewed here)

At $50 each, Louboutin Polishes are a luxurious splurge. They are extremely pricey but I am really happy and pleased with all three shades I purchased. I found each of the three colors unique with a really smooth easy to apply formula. The texture is the perfect density for thin coats that are easy to layer. The dry time is fairly quick and two to three coats gives the nails a lush glossy lacquered look. I can’t pick a favorite out of the three although the teal blue Scarabée II keeps catching my eye (I have it on my toes and keep staring at them). All three are limited-edition colors and I suspect they will sell out (a quick search shows some have already sold out on a few sites). You can find them at Louboutin Beaute retailers. Online while supplies last at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Christian Louboutin.

Have you checked out the Scarabée Collection yet? What did you think? Did you splurge on any?

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Mediterranean Travel

Traveling Through the Mediterranean: Greece and Turkey

July 8, 2015

The last part of our Europe trip was through the Mediterranean. We took a seven day cruise from Athens through the Greek Isles to Istanbul. This was the first time I have experienced a cruise – we booked our trip with Celebrity Cruises on the Equinox. We boarded the ship in Athens, spent a day at sea, and then had day stops in Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini, Kusadasi and Istanbul and were at sea each evening. The Equinox was an impressive ship – standing at the port and looking up it was hard to believe the entire structure was floating in the water (there were 16 decks). The ship was well maintained and the staff kept it extremely clean. It was nice to be able to relax and unwind each night after our day trips. I do think in terms of having time to explore, cruises can be limiting since your time in each city is limited from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Still it was a nice way to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. All the islands we stopped at were beautiful. The water was so bright and clear. Beaches were so beautiful – I loved how they were all organized. I wish I could be on a permanent vacation in Mykonos, I hope to visit again someday. My heart goes out to all who live in Greece due to the financial crisis!

We spent one day in Athens before we boarded our cruise which was enough time to walk around the city, visit the Acropolis and enjoy some delicious Greek food. I stopped in a few pharmacies to see how they compared to those in Paris and Rome. There are a lot of similarities in the setup, but the pharmacies in Athens carry different brands and sometimes items more similar to American drugstores rather than just health and beauty products. We took a hop-on-hop-off bus through Athens. A few photos from our day there.

Rhodes was our first stop. We didn’t plan anything in advance and taking any buses or tours to Lindos would take up a significant amount of time. We decided to walk around the port area and enjoy the beaches nearby. We stopped by the Palace of the Grand Master and walked around the streets. I wish we could have spent an extra day here to see more.

Above with my Longchamp Small Tote which I carried around with me for our vacation. It was the perfect size to carry essentials including my camera, wallet, tickets. It was lightweight but roomy. At times I was able to fit in a sweater, my husband’s jacket and a water bottle inside. The zip top closure was perfect to keep everything tucked away and safe. I didn’t have to worry about pickpockets with it zipped closed.

Mykonos was my favorite place out of all the islands we visited. We took a local bus to Elia Beach which was only 4 euros each for a round trip (compared to the cruise beach transfers priced at $50 each). It was approximately a 20 minute drive from the port to the beach. I hope to go back again to visit and spend more time here. We only had enough time to visit the beach for about 4 hours and have lunch before we had to head back to the ship.

Santorini was the place I was most excited to visit. My feelings about our trip were mixed though (scroll down and you will see why). The day we visited there were four other cruise ships in port at the same time making everything extremely packed and busy. We went to the Perivolos Beach which is a black sand beach. It was really hot and the sand felt like it burned the feet but the water was nice and warm. Santorini is such a beautiful place – one day is not enough to see much of anything but we had a lot of fun at the beach.

To reach the town, they ferried us to a dock where buses go up a steep,
windy and narrow road up the cliffs. To get back down to the ship, there
are cable cars and also steps down the cliff where they have donkeys.
By 3:45 pm, the lines for the cable cars were extremely long. After
waiting 30 minutes, the line didn’t seem like it was moving so my
husband decided we should just walk down. I read about the steps ahead
of time and insisted on waiting in line for the cars. My husband left
for a few minutes to check it out, came back and said “they aren’t bad at all and the steps are really wide” so I said ok. If you google “Santorini donkey steps” you will see that the steps are wide, but extremely steep, slippery and dangerous. We were almost run over by donkeys multiple times. My husband insists that he saw 3 year olds and 60+ year olds going down the hill with no problem. For me it was 500+ steps of pure terror as I have a fear of heights. It took us over an hour to walk down because I was so slow. We heard later from others on our ship that the cable car line was up to 3 hours for some people. If you visit Santorini – I do not recommend walking down the hill.

Above to the right, if you click on the image you might be able to see the cable cars. The arrow points to the steep zigzag cliff we walked down. I seriously thought I was going to die.

Our last stops were in Turkey. We stopped by Kusadasi, Ephesus and Istanbul. My husband is in love with Turkish Coffee. I was amazed to see wild cats and dogs everywhere. I wanted to take some of the cats home with me. At one of the restaurants there was a black kitten under our table. We fed him some of our kebabs.

Below: Kusadasi, Blue Mosque, Ephesus, Turkish Coffee + Cafe Latte

Sailing into the port at Istanbul

Hagia Sophia

 Parrots in the Topkapi Gardens

 Topkapi Palace Gardens

A few more shots from our cruise:

Above: Havaianas, Rayban Aviators, Marc by Marc Jacobs Rimless Aviators, Longchamp Small Tote, Gray Malin iPhone 5 case (discontinued, but 6 cases here), Dior Sundown, Korres Sunscreen

My favorite bronzer Edward Bess Daydream

I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to travel to Europe and visit so many beautiful places. I haven’t visited Europe since 2001 – this trip was long overdue. Out of all the places we visited, my top two favorites were Paris and Mykonos. I can’t wait to visit again – I am hoping we will be able to do another trip somewhere in Europe next spring.

Have you been to Greece or Turkey? What should I add to my travel wish list?

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